The folks at libertarian magazine Reason recently launched Reason.tv, a site focusing on videos promoting “free minds and free markets.”  The site is already quite content reach, featuring dozens of videos.  The highlight is the “Drew Carey Project”, starring the well-known comedian and tackling a number of hot-button political issues like NAFTA, drug legalization, and eminent domain.  All in all, this is a great example of a well-done site that works on a publishing model rather than a brand marketing model.

Last July, Mercedes-Benz launched what I think is probably the slickest of all the current branded video sites online: mercedes-benz.tv.

The site features Mercedes-oriented programming 24 hours a day, with separate channels focusing on lifestyle, cars, sports, history and innovation. And the execution is incredibly impressive: really high quality video, broadcasts in German and English, a wildly innovative (in a good way) navigational scheme. I’m looking forward to seeing how the site progresses from here on out.

Will It Blend? is a web video-driven viral marketing campaign from Blendtec, a company that makes industrial strength blenders. Each episode consists of founder Tom Dickson attempting to blend various items, including an iPod, golf balls, cubic zirconia, and a McDonald’s Extra Value Meal.

The campaign has been a huge success, landing the founder of the little known company on such national television programs as the Today Show (where he blended a half a chicken with Coca-Cola before feeding it to Meredith Viera) and the Tonight Show (where he successfully blended a rake handle.) Between YouTube and the Will It Blend? website, the videos have been viewed more than 100 million times. According to the company, “The campaign took off almost instantly. We have definitely felt an impact in sales. Will it Blend has had an amazing impact to our commercial and our retail products.”

Hockey is by far my favorite sport, but the NHL has struggled for years with a narrow regional appeal and small but hardcore fanbase. Over the last several years, the NHL has tried to expand its appeal by expanding to sun belt cities, curtailing brawls, and adding gimmicks like the shootout. In the process, however, they may have alienated the hardcore fan that still supplies the core of their revenue and remembers fondly the days of rock ‘em, sock ‘em, old time hockey.

With the launch of NHL.tv, the league has got something for the true hockey fanatic: a seven channel digital network featuring original content, highlights, updates, interviews, news conferences, and more. Channels include “The Hockey Show”, “Livewire”, and “The Playoff Channel”, in addition to channels featuring oldies and archival footage. Advertisers include Bud Light, Cisco, and Dodge.

Check out this article from the NY Times for more info.

The subject of a recent article in the New York Times, Crescent Heights is the new web series put out by Procter & Gamble to promote their Tide brand. I think the content on this one is a bit flimsy (or maybe I’m just the wrong demographic), but it’s interesting and inspiring to see a consumer goods giant like P&G experimenting in this space. Could we be going back to the golden days of television, when literal soap operas ruled the airwaves?

To kick off the blog, I thought it’d be great to start with a series of posts focusing on companies that have had their businesses transformed by web video.

First let’s talk about fordmodels.tv. This site was recently covered by a great article in the February 2008 issue of Inc. Magazine, which focused on the “New Basics of Marketing”.

Most people know the basic story of Ford Models – for roughly sixty years they’ve been one of the most prominent modeling agencies in the world. They’ve traditionally made their money by providing pretty faces for fashion shows, magazines, etc. Over the last couple of years, however, they’ve created and posted more than 1,000 videos on fordmodels.tv, and in the process have transformed themselves into a media company as well. Some of the videos have been viewed more than a million times, and advertisers now clamor for a chance to sponsor the content. Revenue is up 140% over the last five years, and they’ve managed to attract further investment from a high-flying private equity firm. And at the same time, they’ve managed to further extend their brand in a powerful and effective way.